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Friday, October 1, 2010

First Stop on Christine Fonseca's Blog Tour for Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students

I am honored and very proud to be launching the blog tour of my very sweet friend and awesome crit partner Christine Fonseca. Her book, Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students releases today! If you or anyone you know is a gifted student or knows one, you NEED this book. This is the book I wish my parents had had when I was a kid. I spent more time writing "Oh my goodness, this is so ME!" in the margins of the pages than I did marking anything that needed editing LOL

This book is quite simply phenomenal and you should run, not walk, to get your own copy. There has already been major buzz about this book in the gifted community and I have no doubt this book will soon be a staple for educator training and parental help.

Christine has stopped by to tell us a bit more about her book.

Welcome Christine, and huge congratulations on the release of your book!

MM: So, what exactly is emotional intensity?

CF: You know that crazy feeling that everything is either too loud, too beautiful, too hard, too easy, too…everything??? That is emotional intensity. Creative types often approach the world with this point of view, often feeling like they are one step shy of bi-polar. Gifted types are this way by definition. It’s an aspect of what it means to be gifted.

MM: Why did you write this book? Why is it necessary?

CF: I love this question! I wrote this book after counseling gifted children and parents and discovering something they all had in common – this bizarrely intense way of approaching the world. It didn’t matter what they were doing – they did it with a level of intensity and passion I only consistently saw in this group.

So, I did some research and discovered that while the “experts” certainly saw emotional intensity as a feature of giftedness, most teachers and professionals working with this population not only DID NOT see this, but they doubted the authenticity of it. Kids were getting diagnosed with pretty significant mental health issues when, at times, it was actually an issue of intensity – with how this population views and interacts with the world.

Thus this book was born. It was my attempt to educate parents and teachers on what emotional intensity really is and how to help teach children the strategies they need to better cope. I have designed it to be easy-to-read and full of worksheets, checklists and tips to help parents navigate through the often turbulent world of parenting gifted kids.

MM: People often view gifted students as being very independent, self-sufficient – in other words, being smart enough that they are more than capable of taking care of themselves, that they don’t need the same kind of support that “regular” kids need. Anyone who knows a gifted student, or who was once a gifted student themselves knows this is very untrue. What other myths do you debunk in your book?

CF: Ah, the mythology of giftedness! Truthfully, myths are very prevalent with regards to the gifted. So much so that the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has pages and pages dedicated to the topic!

For my book, EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS, I tackled several myths related to learning and emotional development, including the following incorrect assumptions:
• All children are gifted in some way
• Children who fail can not be gifted
• Gifted children are happy and well adjusted in school
• Children with disabilities can not be gifted
• Gifted children don’t require additional supports in order to be successful

By presenting the actual characteristics of giftedness, as well as utilizing case studies and role play scenarios, I hope that I’ve dispelled each and every one of the above myths.

MM: What is the one thing you’d really like people to understand about gifted students/emotional intensity?

CF: Great question! I think I want to tell people that being gifted MEANS being intense – and that this intensity is typically NOT a mental health issue. It’s just the way we look at the world. I want people to stop seeing the behavior – the bossiness, the outbursts, the mood swings – as a problem, and see it for the passion it represents. Then, and only then, are we free to teach kids how to cope with this aspect of their personality, instead of trying to hide it or pretend it isn’t there at all – often with disastrous results!

MM: What can you tell us about your future projects?

CF: Ahhh, future projects. I’ve been think about this a lot of late. In the world of non-fiction, I have been exploring the need for a book related to giftedness and bullying, as well as something on teaching/coaching creativity or the Imposter Syndrome in kids. All good topics, I think. Who knows what will actually make its way into a book!

As many of you know, I also write fiction – YA fiction to be exact. I have recently finished up a paranormal romance that highlights forbidden love. My current fiction WiP is a contemporary piece – an issue book. Interestingly enough, the MC is gifted.

Christine, thank you so much for stopping by. And congrats again on such a wonderful book! Christine's second book, 101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids will be coming out next Spring. Keep an eye out for it!

Fun stuff!!! If you'd like to win a SIGNED copy of Christine's fabulous book, Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students, all you need to do is comment on this post. Simple! (International entries welcome) :)

I WANT this book. This is the book I've been needing to read, probably for years now. I can't believe that I know the person who wrote it! I'm so stoked to get my hands on it. And I'm so happy for Christine! Super interview, Michelle!

So excited for you! I ordered a copy from Amazon, but it looks like they are already backordered! Congrats!! :) Will wait patiently, but I would love to win a copy and give the other to Liam's teacher! ;)

Christine ... no more comments ... you can't win a signed copy no matter how many comments you leave.

I can't wait to read this book!

My son is a senior in high school and I plan to buy many copies to give as graduation presents to his teachers and administrators. Maybe they will be more understanding of the gifted children who follow.

An excellent interview and the layout is easier on my eyes than the other blog (sorry Elana...please don't hold that against me when entering me into the book contest). :) Seriously I need this book as a mom of two gifted, emotionally intense, young boys. Thank you. :)

I loved the explanation "You know that crazy feeling that everything is either too loud, too beautiful, too hard, too easy, too…everything??? That is emotional intensity". Great work, Christine! I think the book for children will be extremely useful as well.

I am so looking forward to getting this book. I have always known that my daughter was smart, but never thought it was connected to her emotional intenseness. I hope this will help me better understand her.

Christina's book fills a void of useful information for parents of a gifted child. Unfortunately, our school district provides very little gifted support so as parents we need to navigate as best we can. Having followed her blog(s) for over a year, I am so excited for her! Thanks for an interesting interview.

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